"We all agreed that teachers sometimes need to assign independent work so they can meet with an individual or a small group" (Weinstein et. al., 253).
Managing group work
Skype/Facetime
It’s spring break and you've been assigned a major group project. Only problem is, Billy is going away to baseball camp, Lindsey is going to China for vacation, and Marla has no way to get to your house because she cannot drive. What are you to do? Whether you have a smartphone, iPod, iPad, or computer with you, connecting with the members of your group is easy with Skype and/or Facetime. Skype and Facetime allow you to make video calls, wireless phone calls, and instant message, even all at the same time! You can group video call, send files, share a screen, and get all this an more virtually anywhere meaning on windows, Macs, your smartphone, your TV, on PlayStationVita or your regular home phone. Collaborating just got easier with Skype and Facetime for free or with a number of packages including paying per minute or by month. So the next time you find your students complaining that they don’t have the ability to all get together in one place to work on a project, make them get online and collaborate over the web. Skype and Facetime are great because it allows you to see each other’s faces and hear each other voices, so that no ideas go misinterpreted. Also, with features like being able to send files, connect via Facebook, and make conference calls, connecting around the world or around the corner just got a lot easier.
Sending out multiple drafts of the same document can become quite time consuming, often leaving people wondering, why didn't this ever get finished? Or did it? Who edited it last? Really, am I finished? With Google Docs, you and your group can edit the document all online, so there is no more emailing back and forth a copy every time someone edits it. Groups can make and edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and drawings all online and can share with each other from anywhere with the sending of the web address provided when you start a document. Google Docs comes with all of the same tools as its counterpart Microsoft products too, but be cautious of some missing features and of the fact that you and your group members can not all be editing at the same time. Otherwise, Google Docs is a great way to collaborate with group members on papers or presentations on everyone’s own time.
"There is substantial evidence that small-group work can yield affective social, and academic benefits" (Weinstein et. al., 274).
Managing individual work
Filamentality
Powered by AT&T, this interactive web collecting site will allow teachers to keep a close eye on how students research and find information without legitimate instruction. Filamentality is simply a fill-in-the-blank tool that allows teachers or students to build a webpage based on a topic and then search the internet for existing sites that support the topic. The webpage then becomes the only source students will need to conduct safe and reliable research because you the teacher have preselected sites that you know are reliable and truthful. Support is available every step of the way with Mentality tips and pages are password protected so only your students can enter. Use Filamentality pages to create webquests, hunts, or scrapbooks, but for individual work, students should use this to safely scan the internet by the teacher’s guidelines but without the teacher's prompts.
Podcasts
A podcast is a digital media service that broadcasts audio files that have been downloaded or streamed to a computer or wireless device. It is similar to a radio show or book on tape because each cast is made up of episodes in a series that can be listened to in the present or saved for a late time on your computer or model devise. The great thing about podcasts is that you can listen or view them at any time, and when you subscribe to a specific series, any new content will automatically be downloaded to your computer when it is released. Podcasts are wonderful tools for managing students’ individual work because they provide direction and information without the teacher needed to be present. Teachers can create podcasts and while he or she is working with another group of students, individuals can listen and watch the lecture. It’s like having a teacher in two places at once! Podcasts are also great for those with individual learning styles in that, a student who is a better auditory learner may excel when they are instructed through podcasts, while the teacher works with kinesthetic or visual learners. Podcasts allow students to work individually while receiving the same instruction and information necessary to the goals of the lesson.
Managing group work
Skype/Facetime
It’s spring break and you've been assigned a major group project. Only problem is, Billy is going away to baseball camp, Lindsey is going to China for vacation, and Marla has no way to get to your house because she cannot drive. What are you to do? Whether you have a smartphone, iPod, iPad, or computer with you, connecting with the members of your group is easy with Skype and/or Facetime. Skype and Facetime allow you to make video calls, wireless phone calls, and instant message, even all at the same time! You can group video call, send files, share a screen, and get all this an more virtually anywhere meaning on windows, Macs, your smartphone, your TV, on PlayStationVita or your regular home phone. Collaborating just got easier with Skype and Facetime for free or with a number of packages including paying per minute or by month. So the next time you find your students complaining that they don’t have the ability to all get together in one place to work on a project, make them get online and collaborate over the web. Skype and Facetime are great because it allows you to see each other’s faces and hear each other voices, so that no ideas go misinterpreted. Also, with features like being able to send files, connect via Facebook, and make conference calls, connecting around the world or around the corner just got a lot easier.
GoogleDocs
"There is substantial evidence that small-group work can yield affective social, and academic benefits" (Weinstein et. al., 274).
Managing individual work
Filamentality
Powered by AT&T, this interactive web collecting site will allow teachers to keep a close eye on how students research and find information without legitimate instruction. Filamentality is simply a fill-in-the-blank tool that allows teachers or students to build a webpage based on a topic and then search the internet for existing sites that support the topic. The webpage then becomes the only source students will need to conduct safe and reliable research because you the teacher have preselected sites that you know are reliable and truthful. Support is available every step of the way with Mentality tips and pages are password protected so only your students can enter. Use Filamentality pages to create webquests, hunts, or scrapbooks, but for individual work, students should use this to safely scan the internet by the teacher’s guidelines but without the teacher's prompts.
Podcasts
A podcast is a digital media service that broadcasts audio files that have been downloaded or streamed to a computer or wireless device. It is similar to a radio show or book on tape because each cast is made up of episodes in a series that can be listened to in the present or saved for a late time on your computer or model devise. The great thing about podcasts is that you can listen or view them at any time, and when you subscribe to a specific series, any new content will automatically be downloaded to your computer when it is released. Podcasts are wonderful tools for managing students’ individual work because they provide direction and information without the teacher needed to be present. Teachers can create podcasts and while he or she is working with another group of students, individuals can listen and watch the lecture. It’s like having a teacher in two places at once! Podcasts are also great for those with individual learning styles in that, a student who is a better auditory learner may excel when they are instructed through podcasts, while the teacher works with kinesthetic or visual learners. Podcasts allow students to work individually while receiving the same instruction and information necessary to the goals of the lesson.
Podcasts from iTunes Education